Worship Programs

                                          Theme:

                        "Hope of Earth, Joy of Heaven"

                        Second Sunday in Advent –

                      Sunday School Opening Exercises

Scripture Memory: Matthew 3:11

“I baptize you with water, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Have one of your teachers or an older member of your Sunday School dress up as John the Baptist with “Bible style garment” made out of potato sack material and a rough leather belt.  He should wear sandals (or go barefoot), and his hair should look somewhat wild and unkempt.  Have him carry a sign that says, “Repent” and pass out raisins or dates to kids as they enter Sunday School.  The raisins or dates represent the locusts John the Baptist ate.

Make the following points based on Luke 1, Matthew 3 and John 1:

• John the Baptist was “different”!  God had told John’s father and mother before he was born that their son would be the one who “prepared the way” for Jesus to arrive.
• John lived in the desert, wearing a robe of camel hair and eating nothing but locusts and wild honey.  He spent many years there being prepared by God for his very special job.  That job was to tell people that the One they had been waiting for was about to come – the One God had promised, who would fix the relationship between God and His people.  John told people to get ready by turning away from their sins.
• Many people had been waiting for a deliverer to come and save them – so this was good news!  John began baptizing people who wanted to have a changed heart.  One day Jesus showed up at the river to be baptized.  John told all those watching that Jesus was the One who would take away the sins of the world.
• In a world of darkness, John shone as a light showing Jesus to the world.  We can do the same for the people around us who do not know Him.  What Jesus did for us is so amazing that other people need to know about it.  We can show the way by telling others what Jesus has done for us, sharing Scripture (give examples of good verses to share), being an example to them by the way we live, being kind to them, etc.
• Ask kids to think of someone (friend or family) who is struggling through life right now – someone who doesn’t know that meeting Jesus can mean real life for them.  Have kids pray that they can be a light to that one person.

Prepared by Ms. Lorena Simmonds

Territorial Sunday School &

Christian Education Bureau Director